After much speculation, the MCU is reportedly dropping Kang the Conqueror from Avengers 5 and replacing its initially planned story with another. Avengers: The Kang Dynasty was ostensibly the penultimate movie to conclude the Multiverse Saga, featuring the titular villain in a central role. Halfway through MCU Phase 5, Kang and Kang variants have appeared in Loki season 1 and 2 and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which remains the MCU’s worst-rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes.

The official upcoming MCU release slate suggests that Avengers 5 and Avengers: Secret Wars will bookend Phase 6, but it is now more unclear than ever how the first Avengers movie since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame will look. Story details have been left up to speculation for several years, but Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness set up some cataclysmic stakes for the MCU timeline with the introduction of incursions. The Fantastic Four, meanwhile, looks as though it may take place in another universe entirely. Taken together, it seems as though Avengers 5 will tackle the consequences of an Earth-616 incursion.

Avengers 5 May Be Moving Away From Kang Entirely

The Hollywood Reporter recently confirmed that Marvel is removing Kang from the title of Avengers 5 and therefore may be moving away from the villain entirely. After Jonathan Majors was fired from the MCU and his debut cinematic appearance in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania did not fare as well as hoped, rumors began swirling that Kang would be sidelined as the Multiverse Saga’s big bad. While it is not a foregone conclusion that this is the case, Marvel Studios reportedly dropping Kang from the title of Avengers 5 is telling nonetheless.

Loki season 2 offered a suitable way for the MCU to address Kang’s sidelining, as the TVA have dedicated themselves to monitoring his variants, which they see as dangerous.

These rumors have apparently been vindicated by the recent reveal, though it remains unclear how Marvel will proceed. 2024’s San Diego Comic Con will presumably be the arena in which the MCU reveals the new direction and whether it will consign Kang to being a one-time movie villain defeated by Ant-Man and the Wasp. This may be a divisive decision – particularly as Majors’ Kang was generally a well-received addition to the MCU – but there is still plenty of scope to replace him satisfyingly.

Avengers 5 Already Has A Story Replacement For Kang

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness setting up incursions opens many doors for the MCU. While the Council of Kangs introduced in the post-credits scene of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is one example of a multiversal threat, they weren’t established to be the biggest. Incursions themselves are terrifying enough for the Avengers to tackle, with myriad beyond-Kang-level threats waiting in universes beyond the MCU’s Earth-616.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness concluded with Clea informing Doctor Strange that he had started an incursion after traveling the multiverse.

Galactus, for instance, who has been confirmed as a villain in The Fantastic Four, is a gargantuan danger both physically and conceptually. There is also the Marvel Comics-inspired possibility that the Avengers could face off with variants of themselves in a universe poised to clash with their own. Another notable potential Avengers 5 story element is the elephant in the room in the form of The Fantastic Four‘s arch-nemesis and the still-presumed big-bad of Avengers: Secret Wars: Doctor Doom.

Face It, Avengers 5 Should Just Be Secret Wars Part 1

The fact that Kang the Conqueror had only featured in Loki and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania so far into the Multiverse Saga was becoming particularly concerning as Avengers: The Kang Dynasty rounded the corner. Now that it appears he may not feature in Avengers 5, the path for the MCU seems clearer than ever. Namely, it should hone in on the implications of the multiverse and incursions as a whole and turn Avengers: Secret Wars into a two-part epic in the same vein as Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.

The fact that Marvel Studios is reportedly in talks with the Russo brothers to have them direct the next two Avengers movies helps this idea given their experience. The Secret Wars run of Marvel Comics are also conducive to such a setup, as they were preceded by the Time Runs Out plot, which housed an epic incursion story culminating in the destruction of Earth-616 and the multiverse as a whole, providing Avengers 5 prime source material for this story angle.